Daily Texan Editor-in-Chief Laura Hallas and Managing Editor Michelle Zhang have joined the board of Friends of The Daily Texan Inc. Friends of The Daily Texan, Inc. is a non-profit organization established to lend support and assistance to The Daily Texan, an institution at the University of Texas at Austin since 1900. Members include alumni of The Texan, plus other supporters of a free and unfettered student media at UT. The board consists of media professionals and other supporters of The Texan. It also includes the sitting Editor-in-Chief and the Managing Editor, whi have full voting rights and responsibilities on […]

Editor’s note – Below you’ll find an update from Media Advisor Peter Chen, who works daily with the journalists at The Daily Texan. His note describes the real-world experiences Texan journalists are receiving, and how they rise to the occasion. By Peter Chen Media Advisor, Texas Student Media I’d like to update Friends of The Daily Texan on what your successors recently did that I feel y’all would be proud of. How they worked tirelessly to nail down a story of a Student Government (SG) elections code violation, the pushback they encountered that is so similar to what journalists are […]

Texas Student Media Director Gerald Johnson hit his two-year anniversary with the organization this past summer. Drawing upon more than 15 years of experience leading business development and sales initiatives for The Houston Chronicle and Hearst Media Services, Johnson has worked hard to stabilize both the staff and the finances of Texas Student Media. He led Texas Student Media as it transitioned in 2014 from operating under the Division of Student Affairs to the Moody College of Communication, with the help of bridge funding from the Office of the President. We caught up with him recently to learn more about […]

Aaron Torres, a senior in journalism, worked as a senior sportswriter for The Daily Texan last year, and as a general sportswriter covering offseason baseball and softball in fall 2014. He contacted the Friends of The Daily Texan back in the summer when he was reporting on a story for the 50th anniversary of the Tower shooting in 1966. He’s currently interning in the sports department of the Tampa Bay Times, where he’s writing about high school football and some college and professional sports. He will return to school in January and expects to graduate in May. Texan alumna Alicia […]

At the 2016 Daily Texan Awards, Moody College of Communication Assistant Dean Stewart Vanderwilt shared an update on The Daily Texan and thanked the Friends of The Daily Texan for their support. We share his remarks in full below. Thank you for the invitation to share a few remarks with you this evening on behalf of Dean Bernhardt, the Moody College of Communication and Texas Student Media. Congratulations and thank you to Wanda Cash and Don Adams for your awards and your untiring efforts to protect freedom of information. Congratulations as well to the award recipients and Hall of Fame […]

More than 120 supporters of The Daily Texan gathered Sept. 16 at The Texas Union to honor a new group of 9 inductees into The Texan Hall of Fame. One Rising Star winner, two Griff Singer Award winners and five Hall of Fame winners were inducted. A sixth selection – Sen. Judith Zaffirini – was unable to attend, and will be inducted at next year’s event. In addition, the 2015 and 2016 Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas James Madison Award winners were recognized for their contribution to freedom of the press. Former Sen. Don Adams was the 2015 winner […]

The nine honorees of the 2016 Friends of The Daily Texan Awards come from all journalistic fields and endeavors, and include a glass ceiling-breaking top female editor, a photojournalist who led photo departments at 6 major metro newspapers and won Two Pulitzer prizes, a beloved reporter-turned-professor who left a lasting impression on all he met and a journalist-turned State Senator who is known for her legislative, public service and professional accomplishments. The awards are sponsored annually by the Friends of The Daily Texan, a nonprofit group established in 2013 to support journalistic quality and a strong future in a digital world […]

The fourth annual awards event and gathering of Friends of The Daily Texan has been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 16. The event will be held at The Texas Union and will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a dinner beginning at 7 p.m. Look for registration info in early June. “Part of the feedback from last year’s event mentioned more time to visit with attendees,” said John Reetz, president of Friends of The Daily Texan. “This year our group decided to move from a luncheon to an evening event to allow more time for Daily Texan alum […]

The Friends of The Daily Texan is proud to announce the second class of Hall of Fame inductees, which include a Pulitzer Prize winner, the founding editor of The Texas Observer, a five-time Emmy winner and other outstanding alumni and friends of the student newspaper. Editorial Award inductees include Ronnie Dugger, John Pope, Jan Jarboe Russell and Mary Walsh. Liz Smith is being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Lomi Kriel will be recognized as a Rising Star. These editorial awards were chosen based on the accomplishments of their post-Texan career and their commitment to the Texan, either while […]

The Friends of The Daily Texan is pleased to announce nominations are now open for The Daily Texan Hall of Fame awards. These awards recognize Daily Texan alumni who have led distinguished careers and individuals who have demonstrated support for The Daily Texan. Since it began publishing five days a week in 1913, The Daily Texan has been a springboard for journalists who have gone on to distinguished careers chronicling politics and the White House; civil rights battles at home and wars in distant lands; science, culture, sports and more—and to win Pulitzers, Emmys and other awards doing so. The […]